The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Vehicles include an internal combustion engine that generates drive torque. More specifically, an intake valve is selectively opened to draw air into a cylinder of the engine. The air mixes with fuel to form an air/fuel mixture that is combusted within the cylinder. The air/fuel mixture is compressed and combusted to drive a piston within the cylinder. An exhaust valve selectively opens to allow the exhaust gas resulting from combustion to exit the cylinder.
Under some circumstances, one or more cylinders of an engine may be deactivated. Deactivation of a cylinder may include deactivating the opening and closing of intake valves of the cylinder and halting fueling of the cylinder. One or more cylinders may be deactivated, for example, to decrease fuel consumption when the engine can produce a requested amount of torque while the one or more cylinders are deactivated.
A rotating camshaft regulates the opening and closing of the intake and/or exhaust valves. The camshaft includes cam lobes that are fixed to and rotate with the camshaft. The geometric profile of a cam lobe generally controls the period that the valve is open (duration) and the magnitude or degree to which the valve opens (lift). The vehicle may switch between various lift states (e.g., high, low, and deactivation) with the implementation of a sliding camshaft to maximize engine performance while maintaining optimal fuel efficiency. Actuators, such as solenoids, may be utilized to command the sliding operation of the camshaft.